Jim Schatz designs works of art that help keep our feathered friends nourished

Ask me about my best recent investment, and I will tell you without hesitation that it’s bird feed. No other purchase under $20 provides a fraction of the pleasure that a 40-pound bag of black oil sunflower seed does.

It turns one’s home into a perpetual house party whose guest list includes sociable chickadees, eye-grabbing cardinals, tweeting titmice and an assortment of hammering woodpeckers.